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"The hottest day of the year explodes onscreen in this vibrant look at a day in the life of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. A portrait of urban racial tensions sparked controversy while earning popular and critical praise, "--Container.

Opinion

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The PURE RACISM that Eric Garner in real life recently became a real murdered victim of in 2014 by the DEEPLY RACIST NYPD is exactly what this Spike Lee classic MASTERPIECE is really all about ladies and gentlemen period.This masterwork is extremely more relevant now in 2014 and beyond until ARMAGEDDON than it ever was in the late 1980's when this CLASSIC first came out in movie theaters period.This is arguably the GREATEST FILM OF ALL TIME because this is literally the most TIMELESS film of all time period.This is Spike Lee's best film of his entire career and i know he will never top this one ever period,BUT YOU DON'T HEAR ME THOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's an interesting idea, but at times, I think the execution isn't quite right. It's powerful, but I think it's a great film for discussion, but not for entertainment. Its message is a confusing dichotomy, leaving audiences to determine for themselves what the right thing is to do. To be fair, it was made during a different time and was relevant then, but now it seems as if Spike was being wishy-washy by giving two contradicting quotes to conclude, almost as if he was daring audiences to choose the wrong one without knowing for himself what the wrong one was. Either way, I think you should watch it, even if you're not sure if you like it. It's important on a cultural level.

"Today's temperature's gonna rise up over 100 degrees, so there's a Jheri curl alert! That's right, Jheri curl alert. If you have a Jheri curl, stay in the house or you'll end up with a permanent black helmet on your head fuh-eva!"

"Let me tell you the story of right hand-left hand. It's a tale of good and evil. Hate: it was with this hand that Cain iced his brother. Love: these five fingers, they go straight to the soul of man. The right hand: the hand of love. The story of life is this: static. One hand is always fighting the other hand, and the left hand is kicking much ass. I mean, it looks like the right hand--Love--is finished. But hold on, stop the presses; the right hand is coming back. Yeah, he got the left hand on the ropes now, that's right. Ooh, it's a devastating right and Hate is hurt. He's down. Left-Hand Hate KO-ed by Love."

Violence:Some violence (I can't describe in detail as it risks spoiling the film), but most of it could be seen on the news, so it's fair to say it's present but not brutally harsh, especially for today's standards in, say, action films or crime dramas.

Coarse Language:240 uses of the F-word, even more uses of the N-word, and many uses of various other cusses, including a wide range of racial slurs (one scene includes a montage of different prejudicial views on different rases that are filled with them). If coarse language is a concern to you, then this film will be highly inappropriate.

Summary

As a pizza delivery guy travels through one particular street in Brooklyn and mixes amongst the collection of residents, everyone's hate and bigotry comes to a boil until the bubble of semi-civility explodes.